Germany drew with Mexico in their second game under Julian Nagelsmann. The 2-2 draw in Philadelphia marked the end of the national team’s trip to North America, which started with a 3-1 win over the United States on Saturday.
Antonio Rüdiger’s goal gave Germany the lead in front of 62,284 fans at the Lincoln Financial Field (25’). Uriel Antuna got Mexico’s equaliser in the 37th minute before Erick Sanchez scored shortly after the restart to put Mexico in front (47’). Super sub Niclas Füllkrug scored soon afterwards to level things up again (51’).
Two changes to the starting XI
Nagelsmann can look back on the trip to America as a success. It was a fresh start for the team and they look to be heading in the right direction, which is a good sign ahead of the home European Championships next summer. Nagelsmann will want to fine tune his playing style and his best XI when Germany play against Turkey (18.11, 20:45 CET) and Austria (21.11, 20:45 CET) next month.
The new coach made two changes to the team that started against the USA. Thomas Müller led the line in his 125th appearance for the national team and Niklas Süle came in for Mats Hummels. Nagelsmann opted for a centre-back partnership of Jonathan Tah and Rüdiger, which meant the Dortmund man was moved to right-back.
Goals from Rüdiger and Füllkrug
It was the first time the sides had met since Mexico’s 1-0 victory in the 2018 World Cup. Germany started better, with Florian Wirtz having the first chance of the game in the 5th minute. The breakthrough came shortly after the 20-minute mark. A dangerous corner from Leroy Sané was flicked towards the back post by Robin Gosens, where Rüdiger was waiting to head home. Germany’s build-up play was impressive, with Müller also having a goal ruled out for offside, but they looked vulnerable at the back. Rüdiger didn’t deal with a long ball forwards and the ball fell to Hirving Lozano. Süle was too passive and the winger’s low ball into the box found Antuna, who made it 1-1.
Both teams looked to be more aggressive at the start of the second half, but it was Mexico who struck the first blow. Gosens couldn’t stop Antuna from crossing the ball in towards Sanchez, who outpaced Süle and headed Mexico into the lead. It didn’t take long for Germany to hit back, however. Füllkrug, who replaced Müller at half-time, followed up Wirtz’s effort with a poacher’s finish in the 51st minute. Nagelsmann used the last 30 minutes to play around with his team. He brought on Leon Goretzka and Union Berlin’s Kevin Behrens, the latter becoming the second player to make his Germany debut under the new head coach after Chris Führich’s late cameo against the USA on Saturday.